Man sentenced to prison for gun crime

A Madison man was sentenced Wednesday in federal court for a gun crime.

Andre Williams, 24, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 70 months in prison for unlawfully possessing a loaded firearm as a convicted felon.

Williams pleaded guilty to this charge on Sept. 7.

Williams was arrested on March 21 after a 911 caller reported a large group of people gathered in a parking lot in Fitchburg. The caller said they had observed three handguns being brandished and that members of the group were yelling at each other.

When officers arrived at the scene, they encountered Williams in the group. The officers attempted to conduct a pat-down of Williams and the others in the group, but Williams resisted and, as a result, an officer suffered a torn knee ligament and another officer had to use his Taser on Williams.

When officers searched Williams they recovered a loaded 9mm pistol in his pants pocket, with one round chambered. Williams also had a small quantity of ecstasy and over $600 cash on him, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

Williams was on probation in Dane County after being convicted of felony theft of movable property -- use of a dangerous weapon, in 2011. His term of probation was revoked in November 2012, and he was sentenced to three years in prison.

Conley ordered Williams's 70-month sentence to run consecutively to the state sentence, for a total sentence of eight years, 10 months.

The judge noted that Williams has a violent criminal history and he has been given a lot of chances in the state system, to no avail.

Copyright 2012 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.